1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to network management, and more particularly to a system and method for managing network elements using web browsers available in the market place.
2. Related Art
Computer systems are often connected using networks. The resulting connectivity enables several features such as sharing of data and other resources on the network. For example, networks enable applications such as electronic mail, network file systems (sharing of data using disks accessed over networks), distributed processing (different computer systems executing different parts of a program, generally in parallel) and sharing of printers. These applications usually result in enhanced communication capabilities, efficient use of resources, and/or faster processing of data, thereby leading to productivity gains.
Provision of network connectivity and applications generally entails the operation of several network elements implemented according to predefined interfaces. Network elements include, but are not limited to, hardware circuits/devices and software entities (e.g., a process or a thread) which may operate according to interface specifications to provide the network connectivity or applications. The interfaces may be based on open standards such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and IEEE 802 family of protocols commonly used in the Internet Community, or proprietary standards such as System Network Architecture (SNA) implemented mostly in IBM computing environments.
Proper management of such networks may be critical in the provision of network connectivity and applications. In general, network management can include several functions such as network monitoring (e.g., to ensure the proper operation of network elements in the network), performance management (e.g., to ensure performance bottlenecks are within acceptable levels), software distribution etc. The proper operation of each network element may be critical in a networking environment as the malfunctioning of (or performance bottleneck in) any network element in the path between two computer systems (or any two network resources) may adversely impact the applications and services between the two computer systems. As the network elements are typically shared (or used) by several (potentially in the range of thousands) computer systems, many of them located in remote networks, the performance bottlenecks are often of great concern to managers/operators of computer systems and networks. In addition, as each network element may execute using different revisions or versions of software, it may be important to ensure that all network elements operate using software versions which can operate cooperatively in a desired manner.
Network management stations (NMS) implementing network management functions are employed to manage the networks. Typically, network operators manage the network using a suitable interface (generally graphical user interface based) on a NMS. The NMS indicates by a suitable alarm any problems with or changes in the status of the network. The operator may take appropriate corrective action with or without using the NMS.
The network management task is often complicated by the fact that each of the network elements may be provided by several vendors. The network elements may simply need to conform to a pre-defined interface (or standard) to operate as a part of an integrated network. While the availability of each network element from multiple vendors may lead to reduction in prices, the management of networks having network elements from several different vendors poses additional challenges to network managers.
For example, some vendors may allow their network elements to be managed from proprietary platforms only. Some vendors may support standards based network management applications (e.g., Simple Network Management Protocol), but the integration of the management of their devices into an NMS often requires extensive training. For example, the installation of the software to work with an NMS may require training from the vendor. Operators may need more training for providing on-going support. Such training may need to be provided each time a new network element is added to the network. In addition, substantial effort may be required on the part of the vendors to develop software which runs on the NMS. The resulting overhead due to the development and training required may be unacceptable in certain situations.
Therefore, what is needed is a network management solution which allows easy integration of additional devices. The solution must also be usable by operators without requiring significant training.
There are yet more challenges encountered while managing networks that typically span multiple organizations and distant geographies. A network manager/operator may wish to monitor the status of a remote network. As will be appreciated, it is often impractical to install or provide the software for managing each network element on all remote sites. In addition, a manager/operator may wish to monitor the remote network from any of several machines. A manager may further wish to know the events which may have occurred prior to the precipitation of a problem.
Therefore, what is also needed is a network management solution which allows a person to easily monitor a remote network, preferably from several machines. The network management solution should also allow the person to know significant events which may have occurred around (before and after) the time a problem has precipitated in the network. This knowledge may facilitate easier problem resolution.